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Landy more than just a coach to community

To the thousands of kids whose lives he touched as the supervisor of Savannah’s Delaware Center — he was simply known as “Coach.”

But Jaudon Landy’s influence went far beyond the basketball court, where he taught so many youngsters the fundamentals of the game.

Landy was a difference maker in the community. Friends say he was always willing to lend a hand to those in need whether he was feeding the hungry, helping youngsters as a foster parent, or lending a hand with homework for kids at the community center.

Landy died Sunday in Savannah at the age of 65.

“He was one of the few who had a passion for girls basketball,” said longtime friend Ronald Booker, the girls coach at Beach High. “He sent quite a few players to Beach, and he supplied most of the schools in Savannah with great players that he coached. He had a way with young people and made a difference in their lives.”

Booker said he met Landy in middle school in the 1960s and they attended Beach together, where Landy was a lineman on the football team.

“We called him Uncle Butch even in high school,” Booker said. “While the rest of us were wild, he was mature and grounded even back then. And he had a heart that was two times as big as he was.”

Landy joined the Marines and served in Vietnam. He later worked for Lockheed Martin in Atlanta before landing a job at the Carver Home Community Center in Atlanta, where he worked in the 1970s and 1980s. He returned home and took the job at the Delaware Center where he worked for 18 years before retiring in 2008. He was a stable mentor for children growing up in a tough neighborhood.

“He made everyone feel welcome, whether you were a child, a young adult or a homeless person,” said Rodney Ward, a rec leader at the center who knew Landy for more than 20 years. “He would feed the kids and then make sure the homeless folks had something to eat, too. Everybody loved him. He tried to instill education in the kids and encouraged them to follow through with their dreams. He told them never to sell themselves short.”

Landy often dipped into his own pocket to pay for food and supplies at the Delaware Center, and he often drove kids back and forth from their homes to the center himself.

Landy coached Christy Marshall and Danielle Taylor, who went on to star at Beach before earning scholarships to play at Georgia.

When she was selected as the Savannah Morning News player of the year in 2005, Taylor credited Landy for always stressing grades before basketball — and to play hard with a good attitude.

Calvary Day senior Alexus Parker played for Landy for two years and will never forget his influence. Parker recently signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Prairie View A&M.

“He cared a lot about every girl and raised them like they were his own,” Parker said. “I remember one day I was about to quit playing because I thought I wasn’t good enough. He sat me down and told me how much potential I had and encouraged me to keep pushing. He was like a second dad to a lot of girls, including me.”

Landy is survived by his wife Gaynelle. The couple reached out to the community as foster parents and adopted many children while also raising their own.

“He was all about helping kids,” his son, Lavon Landy said. “My dad was my everything, we were best friends.”

A viewing will be held Friday at Williams and Williams Funeral Home, 1012 E. Gwinnett St., from noon-8 p.m.. A memorial service will be held Saturday at Second Arnold Baptist Church, 1427 East 37th Street, beginning at 11 a.m., with burial following from noon-1 p.m. A repast will be held at the Delaware Center at 1 p.m.